India were crowned winners of the SAFF Championship 2023, after Gurpreet Singh Sandhu made a decisive save in the penalty shootout, which the Blue Tigers won 5-4. The victory caps off a solid month’s work for Igor Stimac’s side, in preparation for the Asian Cup in January.
They will reconvene in a couple of months for the Kings’ Cup in Thailand as they continue their preparations for the tournament in Qatar, but a solid foundation has been laid in the nine matches that India have played in Bhubaneswar and Bengaluru.
Here’s our recap of India’s last month, in numbers.
0
India didn’t lose a single game across the Intercontinental Cup and the SAFF Championship. There were different types of tests that India faced in the last month – the organisation of Lebanon, the gamesmanship and speed of Kuwait, the doggedness of Vanuatu and Nepal, but they came through all those tests unscathed – India won five of the nine matches they played in 90 minutes, but also showed character and fitness through the 120 minutes of the SAFF Championship semifinal and final against Lebanon and Kuwait.
2
India conceded only two goals in nine matches, and only one opposition player scored past an Indian goalkeeper in the last month – Kuwait’s Shabaib Al Khaldi in the SAFF Championship final. In fact, Kuwait were the only team that India couldn’t keep a clean sheet again, with a 1-1 draw in the league stage as well, following Anwar Ali’s unfortunate late own goal in that match.
At the beginning of June, some might have seen winning two trophies as the bare minimum for the Indian team to achieve, and now they’ve achieved that.
5
An oft-repeated question in Indian Football circles is “who after [Sunil] Chhetri?” The last month may have provided glimpses of it. Naorem Mahesh Singh scored his first goal for the national team, Sahal Abdul Samad and Udanta Singh found the net too. Lallianzuala Chhangte scored three times in nine games, as his stock continues to only rise. And then, there was that man himself – Chhetri.
7
He started June on 85 international goals. A month later, Sunil Chhetri now stands on 92. The skipper continues to be Indian Football’s shining light up top, and was deservedly also crowned the MVP of the SAFF Championship. Chhetri also took home the SAFF Championship Golden Boot award for the third time.
9
In a competition that India have thoroughly dominated over its entire history, the Blue Tigers stamped their authority once more, as they lifted the trophy for a ninth time. Stimac became the third Indian coach to lift multiple SAFF Championship titles, after Syed Nayeemuddin and Sukhwinder Singh.
12
India scored 12 goals in 9 matches in the last month. The conversion rate will be an area of concern for Stimac, and one that will surely be worked upon. India took 75 shots in the SAFF Championship, but only managed eight goals from those.
22
As much as the last month was about winning, it was also about ensuring there was depth in quality, ahead of the Asian Cup later this year. Third-choice goalkeeper Gurmeet Singh was the only player who didn’t get on the pitch over the course of the nine games. Now also consider that the likes of Manvir Singh, Suresh Singh Wangjam and Naorem Roshan Singh were away with injuries, and there is a strong young core emerging for Indian Football.
100
India are 100th in the FIFA Men’s World Rankings. The results over the last month have ensured they’ve set out what they had to – overhaul Lebanon before the draw for the World Cup Qualifiers. Pot 2, here are the Blue Tigers.
